


Let's give teamwork a try?

by Emma_with_her_head_in_the_clouds



Series: Trouble seems to find me... [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-19 18:20:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14243079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emma_with_her_head_in_the_clouds/pseuds/Emma_with_her_head_in_the_clouds
Summary: Peter feels things are getting out of hand. Again. This time he actually calls for back-up though. But since Mr Stark is busy, he has to team up with Rhodey, and that makes an interesting experience for both of them.





	1. Chapter 1

Peter was out patrolling. He'd had an uneventful week (by recent standards at least). The robbery last week was all but forgotten about. It had all died down better than he thought it might. Aunt May was not pleased when he called to say he'd been shot ("grazed"), but she seemed to be just about over it (or maybe she was just compartmentalising with her worries about everything else that had happened to him). Tony had done a very good job at keeping Peter out of the press; for someone who was so good at grabbing media attention, he was very good at keeping someone else away from it. So nearly no one knew that Peter had been present at the robbery at all. He'd told Ned (who'd asked a million curious questions), but not anyone else at school. 

Tony had tried to suggest that Peter should take the next day off patrolling, but that idea was quickly vetoed. His wound from the bullet graze had nearly healed, and he still hadn't had the chance to go patrolling properly since he'd nearly drowned, and that seemed so long ago now (sure, there was the Saturday morning before he got trapped in the metal room with Mr Stark, but he didn't count that, considering he was being stalked by Iron Man the whole time). Finally he was back out there, doing what came naturally to him. 

So he was reluctant to admit to himself that he might need to call for back-up. He didn't want to get a reputation for being unable to cope with anything himself. But maybe for once, he could get out in front of it; make a sensible decision and ask for help, before everything went to shit (which it inevitably would do).

The problem at hand was a bridge. A bridge that seemed like it might be about to collapse. He was working trying to direct people off it, but was aware with every movement, it was becoming more unstable, and he wasn't convinced his webs would be strong enough to hold it up. Iron Man might be useful right about now.

"What do you reckon, Karen?" he asked his suit uncertainly, "Do you reckon I should call Mr Stark?"  
"Based on current patterns of destabilisation, I would estimate that the bridge will collapse in 10 minutes, and there will likely still be multiple civilians on it at that point. Requesting back-up would be advisable."  
"Ok, fine, call him," Peter agreed, whilst simultaneously trying to strengthen the bridge with webbing, and direct cars away from the bridge.  
"If you recall, my protocols now dictate I should contact F.R.I.D.A.Y. in the first instance. Would you like me to do so?"  
"Oh right, yes, call F.R.I.D.A.Y."  
"Good afternoon Mr Parker," F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice rang out in his suit, "Are you in need of assistance? Are you in trouble? Are you hurt?" Somehow the A.I. was managing to sound concerned and condescending at the same time.  
"No!" Peter yelled, slightly breathless from exertion, "I mean, no, I'm not hurt. I could just use some back-up. Is Mr Stark around?"  
"Mr Stark is currently away on a business trip. But Colonel Rhodes is around. Would you like me to contact him?" Peter thought about this for a minute. He wanted to say no. He didn't really know Colonel Rhodes that well, and would feel a bit awkward asking him for help. On the other hand though, War Machine was basically another Iron Man suit, and he was thinking he needed Iron Man's help.  
"Yes please," he reluctantly agreed.

"Peter?" Rhodey's voice asked, sounding a little worried and confused, "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Peter sighed irritatedly to himself. It appeared to most people now, his default state was "in peril".   
"I'm fine, Colonel Rhodes. It's just that I think maybe I could do with some back-up perhaps? There's this bridge, and it's collapsing. I'm trying to get everyone off, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it in time. I'm trying." There was a few seconds of silence then, which worried Peter (which was actually when Rhodey was busy looking at information from F.R.I.D.A.Y. about the bridge).   
"I'm on my way. Erm… keep up the good work… kid," he eventually replied before signing off.


	2. Chapter 2

Rhodey was nervous. This whole situation put him on edge. It wasn't that he didn't like Peter; he'd met him a few times, even helped with his training, and he seemed a great kid. He clearly had skills. But he was still just a kid. Rhodey wasn't very used to dealing with teenagers. To be fair though, he would have thought Tony would be even more child-phobic than he was, and yet Tony and Peter seemed to have a real bond. It was sweet really. But also tied into another problem; Tony felt very responsible for the kid, and right now, it appeared Rhodey was. That made him uneasy. Skilled as he was, Peter also seemed to be a magnet for trouble. Rhodey put the odds of him finding trouble again today quite high, and it seemed it was his job to keep him out of it, or face Tony's wrath.

When he arrived at the bridge, he surveilled the scene for a second. The bright red Spider-suit could be seen flying around everywhere, tying webs about pieces of the quickly collapsing bridge, trying to stabilise it, and swinging people off it to the safety of the land either side. Rhodey saw a fragment of the bridge about to fall, and flew underneath to hold it up, his suit straining against the weight.  
"I've got this piece for now," he told Peter over the comms, "Get everyone off it." Peter quickly got to work, moving anyone left on that piece of bridge.  
"It's clear, you can drop it." Rhodey did so, then flew up onto the bridge, grabbing a couple of people and flying them to safety.  
"Colonel… James… erm.. Rhodey…" Peter started, clearly unsure how to address Rhodey.  
"Kid…" Rhodey said in a stern voice, indicating to just get on and say what he was trying to say.  
"Need your help over here, another piece of the road's about to fall." Rhodey was there almost as soon as he'd finished speaking.  
"I've got it. And how about you just call me Rhodes, kid?"  
"Sure thing… Rhodes".

The bridge was nearly gone, but they'd about got everyone off it.  
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.," he said to his suit (he didn't usually like to talk to his suit, but Tony had gone and installed F.R.I.D.A.Y. anyway), "Is there any civilians left on the bridge?" His heads-up display highlighted a heat signature in the back of a vehicle, which was wobbling on the edge of a surviving segment of road. It was a baby, still in it's car seat.  
"Kid, give me a hand!" he called to Peter, who'd just rescued what they'd hoped was the last of the people.

Rhodey managed to yank a car door open, and started trying to unbuckle the baby, which started bawling as soon as he got near him. It appeared children didn't like him much either. The car shot forwards, pulling Rhodey with it before he had a chance to do anything. But it stopped, teetering over the edge. Rhodey looked around- Peter had fired a web at the back of the car, and was pulling with all his might to stop the car going over. Rhodey quickly finished unbuckling the child and pulled it out, flying away from the car as Peter let it fall. They looked proudly at each other for a second. Then the ground disappeared beneath Peter's feet, and he fell. 

Rhodey flew over, worriedly. He looked down. Luckily Peter was still attached to a piece of webbing he'd used to swing over there, so was dangling from the bridge framework. Dangling limply though. He didn't appear to be moving.  
"Kid!?" Rhodey yelled, "Peter!? Are you ok?" There was no response for a few seconds. But then he saw a vague movement of the boy's head.  
"Urgh…" he muttered. 

A loud creaking noise came from the remaining metal work of the bridge. It wasn't going to stay standing much longer. Rhodey shifted the still squalling baby to one arm, leaving the other one free to grab Peter. At first it seemed like he was going to be limited by the web, but as he flew away, the web detached from Peter (presumably on purpose) and they were able to get to the safety of land. He carefully placed Peter down on the ground, the kid slowly moving himself into a sitting position. Rhodey looked around at the panicked looking people in front of him.  
"Erm, is this anyone's baby?" he asked, holding the child out in front of him. No takers. Damn, the child's parents were probably on the other side of the bridge. He looked down at Peter, not sure if he should leave him.  
"I'm good," the young hero muttered with a nod. Rhodey flew across the other side and the baby was snatched from his arms almost as soon as he arrived.  
"My baby!!!" the distraught looking woman cried. People actually said that, huh? 

He could hear sirens approaching, on this side of the bridge anyway. He had a quick look round to check that no one was in urgent need of his help, and flew back across. Peter had moved to a more comfortable looking position, and was rubbing his head.  
"Are you alright?" Rhodey asked, lifting his faceplate and looking concerned.  
"Yeah, I'm fine," the kid replied. Rhodey's face clearly showed doubt about that. "I'm fine, aren't I Karen?" the kid continued. That surprised Rhodey. Who on Earth was Karen? Again, Peter read Rhodey's face. "Karen's my suit lady."  
"What?"  
"Karen is what Mr Parker has named the A.I. in his suit," F.R.I.D.A.Y. chipped in, "And she says he appears to have a minor concussion."  
"I'm fine!" protested the spider kid, "Really!"  
"Well, I'm not taking any chances," Rhodey replied, "I'm taking you back to the base to get checked out." 

The emergency services started arriving on this side of the bridge. Rhodey went over to have a quick word, then came back. He held his arms out slightly awkwardly, not sure of the best way to carry Peter. Peter sighed before wrapping his arms and legs around the metal suit, clinging on tight. This wasn't how Rhodey normally carried people, but then again, people didn't usually have Peter's ability to stick to surfaces. 

They didn't say anything the whole way back to the Avengers' base. Luckily it was a relatively short trip. They landed, and walked together in silence towards the med bay. Rhodey left Peter in the hands of the team, and waited outside. He probably should update Tony at some point what was going on. If he didn't already know. Thanks to his A.I.s, Tony sometimes had the annoying habit of appearing omniscient. He perhaps should call the kid's aunt too. That seemed to be what Tony usually did. But the kid did seem to be practically fine, he reasoned to himself. He could call his aunt himself, and save Rhodey from having to try and introduce himself and explain what happened. 

Having decided not to call anyone, he went into the med bay. The doctors were just finishing checking Peter over.  
"See, I'm fine!" the kid told them, earning a chuckle from a couple of them. One of them turned toward Rhodey.  
"Kid's about right on that one. He's got a very minor concussion, but there's nothing I'm concerned about. He can go home if he wants, though it's probably best if he's not left alone. And I'd recommend he take tomorrow off from patrolling."  
"Fine," Peter sighed, reluctantly agreeing.

"How do you normally get home kid?" Rhodey asked. It seemed a long way for him to web-sling, even if he didn't have a concussion.  
"Happy normally gives me a lift."  
"Ah right." That made more sense. Rhodey wasn't sure if Happy was around today though. "Tell you what, I'll give you a lift back."  
"You sure?"  
"Yeah. I never get to drive very much nowadays." The look of understanding on Peter's face indicated that before, he wasn't sure if the lift was going to be in a car, or on the suit.

To be honest, Rhodey was secretly pleased to have an excuse to borrow one of Tony's expensive cars. He took the Aston Martin. Partly because it was a great car anyway, but also because he reasoned the black paint job was slightly less conspicuous than some of Tony's other vehicles.

They remained in silence practically the whole journey, but now it was less of an awkward silence, and more of a peaceful one. Rhodey walked Peter up to his apartment, despite his protests. The docs said he shouldn't be left alone, and Rhodey wasn't risking leaving anything else for him to be faulted on. Aunt May was in the kitchen when they walked in. She looked slightly surprised to see Rhodey.  
"Hi," he greeted her, holding out a hand to shake, "Colonel James Rhodes." He'd seem May around the compound after Peter almost drowned, but they'd not spoken, so he wasn't sure if she'd remember him. The look on her face indicated she knew who he was, now he'd introduced himself at least. Her eyes narrowed on a fading bruise on her nephew's forehead.  
"Erm, yeah," he continued, "Peter got a very minor concussion whilst out patrolling."  
"I'm fine!" Peter quickly interrupted.  
"Yes, the doctors said it was nothing to worry about, but it would be best to keep an eye in him just in case." May had Peter by the shoulders and seemed to be inspecting him, to check for information to the contrary. "Anyhow, I'd best be going," Rhodey added, starting making for the door, "It was nice to meet you. I'll see you around, Peter. Good work today kid." Peter smiled at him. May didn't say anything, so Rhodey took the opportunity and scooted out of the apartment, before she could start questioning him. If Tony wanted to do the whole parenting thing, that's fine, but he wasn't getting involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you liked this story. To be honest, I wasn't sure how to write Rhodey, but thought him and Peter would make an interesting dynamic. As always, any comments are appreciated (feedback, plot holes, typos, ideas of where the story should go next).


End file.
